Marketing: Business and Legal Strategies Kate Smith, WOOD HERRON & EVANS LLP

Before-and-After Marketing Campaigns Pictures are a great tool for before-and-after marketing. They convey powerful results in a minimal amount of time with very little work to demonstrate the steps in between.

Weight loss, home improvements, car improvements or enhancements to a website effectively convey a transformation that can be effectively displayed through before-and-after pictures. BEFOREAFTER

Why are the TV series so successful? The Biggest Loser The Swan Extreme Home Makeover Monster Garage Because we can see the progress from beginning to end all within the course of a 60 minute program.

TIPS for Successful Before-and-After Marketing Campaigns: Keep as much as you can THE SAME in each picture except for the changes you are trying to highlight, i.e., this helps minimize the distractions and draws focus away from things that are not important.

TIPS: Use the same lighting, same background, pictures showing subjects with the same clothing, houses in the same day lighting or night lighting

TIPS: Make sure the result is similar in size

TIPS: Use pictures that dominate the rest of the ad, page, or sign that they appear on. Pictures can quickly capture the audience's attention and draw the audience in to learn more

TIPS: Use pictures that draw in the consumer to help sell the product or service. For example, if you are selling housecleaning services, the “Before” picture will show chaos and the “After” picture will show a clean and organized environment

TIPS: Use photos that help your audience see visual confirmation that the claims you make are real and justified; provide proof and confidence that you do good work.

TIPS: The cost of creating campaign content/images is minimal: Camera, printer, ink, and a website. Be sure to get permission from your client to use their photos for marketing your business Don't share more information than your clients are willing to reveal If your customer will include a note to be included with the photos attesting to the success of your involvement, a visual testimonial can be even stronger. Caption before-and-after photos with the time and description of what is being shown Use consistent colors and themes to entice visitors to convert

TIPS: Don't exaggerate: you lose credibility if the claims made and/or documented are far-fetched or unjustified by the evidence

TIPS: Take a before photo as early as possible in the process - this also helps get commitment from the prospect Use the before-and-after photos as part of your sales presentation. Other clients will want to be included in the campaign provided that the results are effective and shown effectively.

How to Use Stock Photos in Marketing Campaigns LEGAL STRATEGIES Do’s and Don’ts

If you plan on using stock photos, be aware of the issues and restrictions that may be involved What kind of license did you purchase? What’s a Model Release? Do you need a Property Release? Can you use the image in a website template?

TIPS: 1.The best bet if you need photos for your small business, website, or blog is to take the images yourself. 2.Hire a professional photographer to take the photos. 3.Find free images online that are in the public domain. 4.Buy a license to use an image from stock photography website.

TIPS: Find a good stock photo website: FLICKR, iStockphoto.com, or PhotoShelter.com Use C ustom Search feature on Flickr: Set the parameters to show only images that have creative common, commercial use, okay to modify images Images are FREE to use any way you want as long as you credit the photographer

FLICKR – Types of Licenses under which Stock Photos are Offered

TIPS: On a stock photo website, don’t choose the most popular photo. Often stock image websites show the most popular images first, but it is preferable to find an image that is not used by a lot of people. You don’t want to find the same stock photo you used featured on your competitor’s website.

TIPS: Photos that show people’s faces clearly should have signed Model Releases on file. The stock photo website should indicate that a release is required. Best Practice: Select images where a release exists to avoid legal problems.

TIPS: Download an image size that is big enough to use for your needs. Don’t select the smallest size simply because you are using it on a website. Consider whether the photo would look better cropped, or if you might be able to use it in other marketing materials. A large size might give you more options and would eliminate the need to download (and pay for) the photo a second time because you didn’t download a large enough version the first time.

TIPS: When modifying stock photos, make sure the License for Use includes the right to modify the image. Otherwise, your use could become the target of legal concerns. 22

Don’t use a stock photography image to brand your company. You need something that is specific to you and that can’t be used by other businesses. Create new marketing materials to represent the company with a brand that is created for you.

Questions? THANK YOU! Kathryn E. Smith, Esq. Partner WOOD HERRON & EVANS LLP 2700 Carew Tower 441 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio (513)